Growing Up
by EmpoweredWolfWrath
Summary: It's just the story of Meta Knight as he grows up hence the name. Rated T for language, violence, and character death.
1. Chapter 1

This could quite possibly be the longest fic I've ever done. If it's not, don't sue me.

Disclaimer; I don't own Meta Knight and most of the star warriors. I might put a few OC warriors in there but I'm not sure yet.

Wooden swords clashed as 6 year-old Meta Knight and his best friend, Mezmer played in a field outside of their village.

Mezmer's sword hit Meta Knight's arm and the child dropped on the ground, biting his lip to fight back tears (you have to remember that he's six for god's sake).

"Come on Mety!" Mezmer said, helping his friend up, "If you're going to be in the Galaxy Fighter army, you're going to need to toughen up!" he handed Meta Knight back his sword and got ready to spar again.

"It's Galaxy _Soldier _Army Mezmer!" Meta Knight Explained, faint annoyance in his voice, "And one day I'm going to be a Star Warrior and defeat Nightmare!" He puffed out his chest in pride like any other little kid would.

"Sure you are. Come on! Mom's making lunch!" Mezmer started running back to the village, Meta Knight tagging along.

The village was a bit like Cappy Town, except for the fact that all the occupants of the village looked like midnight blue Kirby's of all sizes.

Mezmer's mother was sitting outside her house, a collapsible picnic table laden with sandwiches and odd fruits.

Meta Knight sat next to his friend and dug into his sandwich, not noticing his mother running up to them.

"Hon! I just heard that some of the soldiers are coming home from the war! I didn't here who, but it could be your father!"

Meta Knight choked on his sandwich when her heard this news and Mezmer had to punch him in the back a couple times before he was able to breath again.

About half of the people of Meta Knight's village had been whisked off to war, including his father, whom Meta Knight had not seen since he was 3.

A dark cloud boomed overhead. A thin streak of lightning appeared in the distance.

"It looks like a storm," Mezmer's mom mused, "Mezmer, hurry inside. I hope the soldiers get here alright."

Meta Knight's mother ushered her son into their house which, thankfully, was next door.

The hours passed, and still no soldiers. Only the patter of rain on the window. Eventually, Meta Knight closed his eyes and fell asleep. His mother carried him to his room, which was draped in posters of the Star Warrior force and hand-drawn pictures of his father.

…

When Meta Knight awoke, it was about 5:00 in the morning and still dark. Outside his room, he heard voices, one of them male. "Dad!" he breathed excitedly. He kicked off his blanket and ran to the door. He opened it up a crack and saw his dad, scarred and battle worn, hugging his mother.

"I missed you," his mother murmured

"An I you," Meta Knight's father replied. But something about his father wasn't right, his voice was lower, and his eyes seemed to glint red. But before Meta Knight could warn his mother, she gasped. She pushed away from her husband as he let out a low growl. He started to grow, shedding his blue skin to reveal blood red fur.

The thing standing in front of his mother resembled something between a Yeti, and a reptile. It's face a green crimson as it glared at Meta Knight's mother, hate settling in it's red eyes.

His mother screamed as the beast lunged at her. Meta Knight had to cover his eyes but still heard the screams and roars until finally, a sickening _crack _and the screams were cut off, now only leaving the rapid breathing of the beast.

The thing turned in the direction of Meta Knight's room and the boy froze. He had to think of something fast. He remembered the loose floorboards that he snuck candy under to save for later without his mom noticing.

Hurriedly, he scuttled to the place and pulled the floorboards out. Pushing the side numerous sweets and candies, he wedged himself inside and pulled the boards over his head just as the beast broke open the door.

It sniffed the room, sticking out its forked tongue and tasting the air. It stepped to Meta Knight's bed, standing over where the child really was. The child shrank farther away from the feet above him.

He heard the ripping and tearing of the monster tearing his room to shreds. After what felt like hours, the thing seemed to leave and the room quieted. But them, ten minutes later, he heard another scream, this time coming from next door. "Mezmer," Meta Knight murmured, hugging his feet.

The screaming went on, the monster moving from one house to the next. Eventually, it ran out of houses and it seemed to leave. Meta Knight listened to the silence. It was the loudest silence he had ever heard. He didn't dare come out of his hiding place.

The hours passed. Meta Knight had dozed off again. He awoke that morning around 11:00. He kicked a few times and the boards gave way, allowing him to crawl out. His room was destroyed. His bed was 

now a mix of feathers and foam from his mattress and pillow and all of his drawings and posters were in tatters.

As he entered the main room of the house, he had to avert his eyes from the crumpled body of his mother. As he walked to the door, He noticed that no one was outside. The village was usually abuzz will people but now it was a ghost town, and it was all the fault of the monster that had attacked the night before.

He noticed the bloody, two toed foot prints that stood out against the grass.

Staring at the footprints in awe and horror, he didn't notice the figure coming up behind him, its sword at the ready.

Meta Knight turned just to see the sword swing towards his face and he let out a shrill scream. But just then, another figure leapt in front of him and shielded the blow.

"Dragato! What the hell's wrong with you?!" a female voice shouted, "I'm just offing another one of those demon beasts!" came the reply

"You moron! That's not a demon beast, it's a native!" The woman cuffed Meta Knight's attacker on the side of his head.

The two came into view. The attacker, who seemed to go by Dragato, had red hair and purple eyes. A gold star was embroidered on one of his spiky shoulder pads. _A star warrior _Meta Knight thought. The woman, on the other hand, had spiky blue hair up in a tight pony tail. Her mask was an upside down triangle with a slit that showed her bright green eyes. She too had a gold star on her shoulder pads.

The female warrior crouched down to Meta Knight's level who was shaking violently in terror.

"A-are you going to kill me?" he stammered

"Aw no, that's just my ass of a partner and his over protectiveness. You're alright." She helped him up. "By the way, I'm Onyx and he's Dragato. We're star warriors sent to this planet to look for survivors. Looks like we found one, do you know if anyone else is still around?"

Meta Knight shook his head, "No, a monster came and killed everyone,"

"Wow, that's a first," Dragato said sarcastically,

"Shut Up! I am so reporting you to Arthur!"

"Jeez, take a joke."

Onyx helped the boy up and she and Dragato took him to a small ship that had landed near the village. Almost exactly where Mezmer and he had played yesterday.

At the thought of Mezmer, Meta Knight's eyes welled up with tears.

"What's wrong?" Onyx asked in concern. Meta Knight just shook his head as he stepped on board with the two star warriors.

The trip back to the main ship seemed long and drawn out. All of them sitting in silence until an enormous ship came into view. Meta Knight stared in awe. If it had been under different circumstances, he would have been in awe.

As they landed in the ships dock, they unloaded and stepped into a room filled with star warriors. Some with their masks unfastened, chatting with one another. Others polishing their swords. Meta Knight scanned the room, searching for signs of his father, alas, no one. That could only mean…

A solitary tear ran down his cheek.

A star warrior walked towards him. This one wearing gold armor. His eyes, like Onyx's, were green and alert. Sir Aurther was approaching him. If he had not been overwhelmed by grief, he might have exploded.

"Well," Arthur started, looking down at the boy, "I see you found a survivor,"

"He wouldn't have been a survivor long if I hadn't gotten to him," Onyx said, smirking a bit,

"Why? Where there still demon beasts lurking there?"

"No, even worse, Dragato was searching that area."

A few warriors laughed as Dragato scowled at Onyx.

"Well, he's the first we've seen in over 2 years; maybe some planets beyond his weren't attacked yet." Sir Arthur looked at Meta Knight, "Boy," he asked, "What's your name?"

"M-meta Knight." He said staring at his feet.

"Welcome,"

_Woo-Hoo!! I finished chapter 1!! I'm soooo tired. Hope you enjoyed it._


	2. Chapter 2

Meta Knight sat at a small table with 4 other warriors; Onyx (who offered to mentor him), Falspar, Dragato, and Vladimir. Vladimir/Vlad was basically a black-brown falcon with cargo pants and a bullet-proof vest.

"Um… Onyx?" Meta Knight asked meekly, staring at the female warrior

"What's up?"

"Did you know a warrior named Linus?"

"Yup, he was one of my best buds,"

"I thought I was one of your best buds!" Dragato said indignantly (out of character moment)

"Oh, be quiet, you know what I mean."

"Do you uh… know what happened to him?" Meta Knight twiddled his thumbs

Onyx's smile faded and sadness appeared in her eyes, "He took his chances up against one of Nightmare's more violent demon beasts. He paid with his life. Why do you ask?"

"He… he was my dad."

Everyone looked down and said nothing, as if taking a moment of silence for the death of their comrade.

"We're sorry," Vlad said in a gravely voice.

"I wanted to become a star warrior just like him," Meta Knight said, fighting back tears

"Well, it's not exactly like we're going to hand you a sword and put you on the front lines," Falspar contradicted, "but, Onyx will train you up a bit if you want."

"Yes! More than anything!" Meta Knight's eyes lit up with excitement

"Well, first, you need to learn the number 1 rule of being a star warrior…" Onyx started before Vlad mumbled under his breath, "Don't hit on the girl soldiers,"

This caused Dragato, Vlad, and Falspar to burst out in righteous laughter while Onyx's face reddened. Meta Knight let out a small snicker and Onyx turned to him. "It's not funny," she growled

"See? I was giving the kid important info for surviving!" Vlad chuckled as Meta Knight shied away from her.

She finally just decided to blow it off and enjoy a battle free day.

About an hour later, when everyone except Onyx and Meta Knight had things to attend to, Meta Knight asked, "Can we start training now? Please?"

"Sure, I'll take you. Come on." Onyx led Meta Knight down a metal plated hallway to a door that Onyx had to duck to step inside.

Inside the room were numerous objects. A punching bag with sand leaking onto the floor stood in a corner while a large pole with spikes jutting out of it stood in the middle of the room. One wall seemed to have adopted gashes that had split the metal to reveal blackened stones.

"Today I'll just teach you really basic swordplay." Onyx seemed to pull a wooden sword that was not unlike the ones he and Mezmer had been playing with yesterday.

"Ok, try to hit me." Onyx had also armed herself with a wooden sword and was standing completely open to him.

Meta Knight swung his sword and the warrior, who blocked and unarmed him in a second.

Meta Knight stared at her in amazement. "Whoa! How did you do that?"

Onyx snickered behind her hand. "Years of practice,"

She had Meta Knight attack her again and again, deflecting him each time. About the 5th time this happened, Meta Knight decided to try something. He ran at her, but instead of aiming at her stomach, he made a cheap shot at her legs. Onyx hopped out of the way and Meta knight's sword sliced through the air.

"Nice job," Onyx commented, "You almost had me."

"Thanks," Meta Knight huffed, he dropped the wooden sword, he was spent.

"Oh, don't tell me you're tired now!" Onyx exclaimed, "We only just started!"

Meta Knight looked up at her but said nothing.

"Here, you need to learn to pace yourself or else you'll wear yourself out before you get to do anything." Onyx walked over to him. "Ok, first thing is try to control your breathing don't breath too fast or else you'll become delirious."

Meta Knight instantly did as he was told. However, it was hard while he was still catching his breath.

"Also, don't attack head on, you'll just get blocked and you'll have to spend more of you're energy defeating that one opponent."

Just then, Sir Arthur appeared in the doorway. "Onyx, we need you to control the ship for a bit, Meta Knight's training will have to wait." Onyx nodded and followed Arthur, Meta Knight running to keep up with their pace.

When they entered the ships control room, it seemed if it was all one big window. No matter which direction you turned, you were staring out into space.

Onyx sat down in a swivel chair and spun behind a flashing panel. She typed rapidly on numerous buttons and turned to Arthur. "We are now heading for the planet Diad."

Sir Arthur nodded, "Good, do you know the approximate time we will be landing?"

More rapid typing, "Um… an educated guess would be tomorrow at the least. Let's hope they still have resources there. We can replenish."

Again Arthur nodded, "Very well. I can trust you to keep us on course?"

"You bet."

Sir Arthur left, Meta Knight trailing behind him. "Where's Diad?"

"It's a planet of thick jungle. I know of a few strongholds there but I am not sure if they have fallen at Nightmare's hands."

Meta Knight pondered what he had just heard. His home planet, Archaden, was mostly just grassy plains and a few circles of wooded area.

As Meta Knight left Arthur, he decided to explore a bit, see what the rest of the ship was like.

As the 6 year-old walked through the metallic hallways, he noticed they seemed to be devoid of life. _They're probably all really busy. _He thought, _I wish I were old enough to do something._ At that moment, he accidently walked into someone and was pushed to the floor.

He looked up to see a figure, clothed in black with a katana hanging by his side. A ninja.

"Excuse me sir," Meta Knight said meekly, inching out of the ninja's way. The ninja just stared with his cold black eyes. "Just stay out of my way boy," he snapped and continued walking.

Vlad came up from behind Meta Knight, "What's up with you?"

Meta Knight pointed to the ninja's back, "Who's that?"

"Him? Oh, that's just Yamikage. Don't pay him no mind, he's like that to everyone." Vlad clapped him hard on the back, causing the child to stumble forward.

"If you say so,"

_Yay! I wanted to mention Yamikage in this story eventually so I did. Just for the reference, I'm going to say that in this story, Yamikage is probably like, mid 20/30's or something along those lines. I'm dedicating this chapter to all the people who R&R! _


	3. Chapter 3

_Meta Knight stood on a darkened battle field, watching warriors and demon beasts alike battle each other. "What's going on?" he asked himself as he walked across the field. Involuntarily, his legs stopped moving. In front of him stood his father, Linus, sword at the ready, staring at something Meta Knight could not yet see._

_A roar came from behind him and a blood red wolf jumped over his head, causing young Meta knight to shriek and duck. Linus instantly began battling the wolf, who had begun to spit fire balls at its opponent._

_Linus intricately dodged the fire but one caught the hem of his cape and it smoldered a bit before he stamped it out. "Damn dog," he muttered under his breath before he flung himself at the beast swing his sword at the beast's unprotected stomach._

_Wolfwrath just batted the star warrior to the ground and lunged at him while he was down._

"_Dad!" Meta Knight yelled but it fell upon deaf ears as he watched his father go still. Wolfwrath bounded away, revealing a fang imbedded in his father's chest._

Meta Knight awoke, tears sliding down his face. He had just witnessed his father's last moments. He rolled over on Onyx's bed, who's owner decided that she would sleep on the floor until they found Meta Knight permanent quarters.

-the next day-

"Onyx, Diad is in sight. Are you landing this piece of metal?" Sir Arthur asked, a half eaten piece of bread in his hand.

"Yeah, sure, let me get some coffee first." Onyx later returned with a Styrofoam cup filled with coffee, "My god this stuff is terrible but at least it's coffee," she took a sip and shuddered, "Yup, nothing's changed."

Diad became more detailed as they neared the planet. It was about 70 shades of green. Meta Knight turned to Vlad, "Is it possible to land there?"

"Hm? Oh heck yeah! It takes a pretty expert pilot to so though. That's why we have Onyx."

As if on que, they started to descend sinking below the foliage until the sky was completely blocked out.

"You said there were strongholds here. Where are they?" Meta Knight asked Arthur, "Well, the nearest village is about a miles trek from here.

Only a few exited the ship. Sir Arthur, Onyx, Vlad, Falspar, and Dragato. Meta Knight wanted to tag along too. "No! you are not going with us!" Onyx insisted as she pried Meta Knight from her pant leg

"Please!? I won't be any trouble, I promise!"

"Onyx, let the kid go. All we're doing is stocking up and the Diadians are a relatively peaceful people." Vlad assured and pulled the kid off her.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Meta Knight squealed, now hugging Vlad's pant leg.

"Ok, if we want to get to the village before night. Who knows what creatures are lurking here," Falspar said, unsheathing his sword and cutting through the vast undergrowth before them.

…

After about 20 minutes of walking, they came upon a wall of spikes.

"Oh yeah, they're totally peaceful. When was that last time you were here Vlad?" Dragato quipped, shooting a quick glare in Vlad's direction.

Something jumped them. They all backed into a circle, Meta Knight in the center, their swords pointing outwards.

"Who are you and why are you here?" demanded on of the figures, who sounded female with a slightly Russian accent, she and her comrades held pointed spears in the group's direction.

Arthur stepped forward, "We are the Galaxy Soldier Army and we were hoping that we could replenish here and then be on our way,"

The woman jabbed her spear in Onyx's direction, "And what about her?"

"What about me?" Onyx asked, faint annoyance in her voice

"Are you with them?"

"Yes she's with us, why do you ask?" Dragato asked

The spears lowered as the woman and her soldiers stepped into view. She was unlike anything Meta Knight had ever seen. She might have passed for human except for the fact that her neck, cheeks, for arms, and calves were a scattered array of black crow feathers. They wore skins of animals that none of them had ever seen before and carved into their spears was calligraphy that was lost to the ages.

"Come with us to the village, your men are not safe outside it," another Diadian said, also female in fact, the entire ambush was made completely of women, a few carried tattoos but all of them had the black feathers growing out of their skin.

As they arrived at the village, it also seemed to be made completely of females. As Onyx passed though, they glared at her, a few ushering children inside.

They reached something of a huge longhouse and stepped inside. There were beds and food and bunches of Diadian women caring for the sick and injured.

"Where are your male soldiers?" Falspar asked, looking around the room

"They were taken by the creatures," said the Diadian, lowering her eyes

"But what are the creatures?" Onyx asked

"Harpies. They lure men with their siren call and feast on them afterwards."

Meta Knight's stomach churned and he stumbled forward, into the eyesight of the Diadian, who's face seemed to soften, "What a cute little pup you are. I am Iyseth, queen of the Diadians."

Meta Knight nodded, not sure what to say. It felt odd having those eyes stare at you. They were like an owls', staring deep into your soul.

"Iyseth, is there anything we can do to help your people?" Sir Arthur offered. She shook her head, "You are men. You would not last a minute after dark if not for the guards we have at the edge of our village."

"I am sure we are capable-," but he was cut off by the queens sharp tone, "No! You are not sure! You haven't the faintest idea of what these things are like. Once you hear their songs, nothing else matters, not even your lover!" Iyseth's eyes were now brimming with tears

Sir Arthur stood speechless, not sure if he should say anything to counter her comment, or just shut up.

"Excuse me Iyseth, but would I have a chance of killing them?" Onyx asked meekly, and it was unusual for her to be meek. But something about the Diadian queen made her feel small and helpless.

"You may have a chance. The Harpies' songs do not work on females. I shall accompany you if you are willing to go." Iyseth said, turning her spear. "We shall go tonight. If we are not successful, I will have my guard's escort you back to your ship,"

"Wait! You're sending Onyx but not us?!" Dragato blurted out only to have Iyseth get close, her nose almost touching his (if he has a nose) a fire burning in her eyes, "Did you not just hear me ignorant warrior?"

-That night-

Onyx had changed. She now wore all animal hide, her mask had been removed to be replaced with one that was not unlike Yamikage's.

"The animal hide will help mask your scent," Iyseth assured, she wore almost exactly the same attire as Onyx's, "Take your bow, it will be more trustworthy than any sword," She handed Onyx and ivory bow and a quiver full of arrows.

"Why not just use a sword?" Vlad asked, furrowing his brow,

"Because star warrior, a Harpie can crush your sword as easily as you would a piece of paper, but stone, that will work better than any steel." Meta Knight watched from afar, wondering if his plan might actually work, or whether they would notice him.

"Good luck Onyx," Vlad said, clapping her on the back

"Thanks. By the way, where's Falspar?" Onyx looked around for the star warrior

"Don't know. Probably off doing something or other."

Onyx nodded as she and Iyseth walked past the wall of spikes and out into the jungle, not knowing Meta Knight was trailing close behind.

…

Half an hour into the trek through the jungle, Meta Knight began to become careless. He leaned against a tree for a moment to catch his breath.

The tree moved and Meta Knight jumped away as an enormous snake appeared right were he had been moments ago.

Despite himself, he let out a shrill scream, causing Onyx and Iyseth to turn.

"Meta Knight!" Onyx yelled as she pulled an arrow from her quiver and shot it at the snake.

The stone bit into the snake's side as it turned, gave a hiss, and slithered off into the trees, leaving a trail of blood behind it.

"Meta Knight! Why the hell did you follow us! You could get yourself killed!" Onyx almost screamed.

Iyseth gave him a cool look, "She's right pup, this is no place for you,"

"I'm sorry. I wanted to watch you fight the harpies, I didn't know I was going to get caught," Meta Knight apologized, not daring to meet either of the warriors' eyes.

"There is nothing we can do now. We are too far away from our village and too close to the mountain," Iyseth said, staring into the distance.

"Fine, but Meta Knight, when we gat to the mountain, you will stay behind. I am not losing you to these things," Onyx said sharply, following the Diadian's gaze.

"Ok," Meta Knight said, only slightly put out

They walked in silence, Iyseth occasionally stopping to listen to the jungle around them.

Eventually, the trail came to an end and a steep mountain sat in front of him.

"We will have to make the rest of the way on foot," Iyseth said, sliding her bow across her shoulder

"Ok. Meta Knight, I command you to stay here." Onyx said, imitating the Diadian Queen.

"We cannot do that," Iyseth said suddenly

"What? Why not?" Onyx asked, confused

"Because he has no protection to the creatures on the jungle floor. He will have to travel with us."

"Ugh… fine." Onyx leaned over to allow Meta Knight to scuttle on her back.

They started climbing. Going higher and higher with each step. Meta Knight made the mistake of looking down and swallowed seeing the distant floor beneath them.

Eventually, they came to a large, flat ledge and Meta Knight dropped of Onyx's back, relieved to be on solid ground again.

"We will have to be very quiet. We are nearing the harpies' nest." Iyseth commented, putting an arrow in her bow.

Onyx imitated her, "Meta Knight, stay here and wait for us to come back."

Meta Knight nodded, his fingers crossed behind his back.

They started walking along the ledge, leaning against the wall were it became treacherous.

Just as Meta Knight's feet began to tire, they stopped and he stood completely still, as if it would make him invisible.

The girls turned a corner and Meta Knight followed them, astounded at the sight that lay before him.

Sitting in what looked like an enormous birds nest, looking either completely drunk and/or sedated, was Sir Falspar, surrounded by what Meta Knight assumed were 5 harpies.


	4. Chapter 4

_Ok, first of all, I am soooo sorry I haven't updated in awhile. And second, I know at the end of the previous chapter I said there were 5 harpies but in this one I only mentions four. I got lazy and I just wanted to finish this chapter. Dedicated to Ivy Starr._

The harpies would have almost been beautiful, except they had bloody red eyes and fangs that peeked out of their mouths. Not to mention the Enormous bat wings folded against their backs.

"Iyseth! How nice of you to join us." A black-haired harpy said. Her sisters chuckled behind her back.

"Just give us the knight and we will leave you in peace," Iyseth growled, her fingers twitching, trying to restrain the urge to let her arrow fly.

The black-haired harpy gave a mirthless laugh, "Now, I don't believe that any more than you. And besides, it has been so long since we've had a knight, especially such a handsome one." (author gags)

Falspar stared up at the harpies with longing but remained in the nest.

"I do believe we have had the pleasure of meeting your mate Iyseth?" asked a blonde harpy, stroking the top of Falspar's Mohawk, "Constantine, was it not?"

At this, Iyseth sent her arrow at the harpy, who caught it and snapped it in half, a smirk twisted her features.

Iyseth was about to let another arrow fly when Onyx held a hand across her path. "Stop! We aren't going to win this way!"

The Diadian lowered her bow, nodding.

Meta Knight watched in awe, not noticing a harpy with waist-length hair and an asian complexion approaching him from behind. It grabbed him, covering his mouth to keep him from crying out. _Cease child._ The harpy sang in his ear. It was the single most beautiful sound he had ever heard. It was indescribable, impossible to place. Meta Knight tried to fight it, but the harpy kept singing to him, drawing him deeper under her control.

_Falspar, be a dear and finish off those pesky soldiers for me?_ sang the black-haired harpy. Falspar unsheathed his sword and ran at Iyseth and Onyx who had to leap out of his way. Falspar's sword sliced through the air where the two women had been moments before.

The harpies laughed mirthlessly at each attempt the two warriors made to approach them, only to be cut off by Falspar.

_Meta Knight, help Falspar rid those us of those soldiers. _The Asian harpy ordered. Meta Knight reluctantly obeyed.

The harpy handed him a sword that lay in a pile of bones next to their nest. The sword was heavy in Meta Knight's hands as he charged at Onyx and Iyseth.

"Meta Knight?!" Onyx cried, jumping out of the way of another attack from Falspar.

However, Meta Knight didn't reply. He only swung wildly at her and Iyseth.

_Finish them!_ The blonde harpy shrieked. Falspar sent his sword at Iyseth in a way that would have made her head roll… literally.

As the harpies watched excitedly as Meta Knight battled Onyx, Iyseth managed to sneak around to the back of them in a way that would have made James Bond proud.

As silently as an owl through the night sky, Iyseth knocked an arrow and let fly strait at the blonde harpy's back.

The harpy screeched in pain as the arrow ran straight through her, a bit poking out of her stomach.

_Ewww…_

The harpy fell, lifeless, onto the floor of the ledge.

A brunette harpy, who had remained silent until now, "You will pay for the death of our sister with your own!" she took flight, catching air underneath her bat like wings and soared upwards.

Onyx managed to disarm Meta Knight with a small knife that she had kept in her shoe and the child kicked and thrashed wildly as Onyx again jumped out of the way of Falspar, who ran strait past them, to the edge of the cliff.

He pin wheeled, trying to keep himself from falling. Onyx grabbed him by his mohawk and pulled him back onto the ledge.

Iyseth had knocked another arrow to her bow and was aimed at the harpy in the air. It hurtled towards her, clawed hands outstretched to grab her. Just as the harpy was about 3 feet from her, she let go and the arrow plummeted straight into it's heart.

The harpy dropped to the ground, it's eyes wide with shock.

"Two down, two to go," Iyseth muttered under her breath as she nudged to dead harpy with her toe.

Meanwhile, Onyx was having her work cut out for her being chased by two bewitched star warriors and an Asian looking harpy. Any time she tried to send an arrow at her, it either missed or the harpy snapped it in half.

Eventually, she managed to put the nest between her and her three pursuers. Wondering frantically what to do, she pulled her tiny knife out again. While holding the knife between her teeth, she sent and arrow straight at the harpy's heart then, almost immediately after that, she threw the knife right behind it. The harpy caught the arrow but even before she had time to snap it in half, the knife plunged into her chest, sinking up to its handle.

The harpy fell forwards into the nest, a pool of blood gathering around her.

Meta Knight blinked. It was as if he had just woken up from a very realistic dream. "Onyx, where are we?"

"You are in a lot of trouble!" she managed to get out while diving out of the way of Falspar tackling her.

Iyseth looked up at the sky in search of the last harpy, her feathers bristled and she turned around just in time to see the black haired harpy scratch her across the face.

She put a hand to her cheek in time to feel blood oozing sluggishly from her face.

In return, she threw her fist at the harpy. It managed to get her in the face and she stumbled backward, over her sisters. She opened her wings and soared into the air, intricately dodging all of the arrows the Diadian fired at her.

Iyseth reached back into her quiver to knock another arrow but found that there was nothing there.

Onyx and Meta Knight ran from Falspar, hopping over the corpses of the harpies.

Onyx looked behind her to see where Falspar was and ran into Iyseth.

"I need an arrow!" she said hurriedly, glancing up at the sky.

"You take Meta Knight and Falspar and I'll take the harpy!" Onyx offered , seeing the last harpy hurtle towards them with alarming speed.

As Iyseth ran off to save Meta Knight from being chopped in half by Falspar, Onyx drew back her bow string, waiting for the perfect chance to fire. However, she waited a moment too long and the harpy grabbed her around the neck and lifted her so that her feet barley touched the ground.

Onyx dropped her bow, and turned a light shade of blue as the hands tightened on her neck.

"Goodbye warrior," was all the black haired harpy said as a twisted smile curled her lips

"Goodbye," Onyx gasped and drove the arrow that she had been clutching into the harpy's neck.

Blackened blood spurted from the wound, showering Onyx.

The harpy dropped her and she fell to the ground, gasping for air. The Harpy lay still in a pool of its own black blood.

Once Onyx regained the ability to stand and walked over to Iyseth, Meta Knight, and a very dazed Sir Falspar. "Ugh," he moaned, rubbing his temples, "Where am I?"

"Well," started Onyx, "A harpy sang to you and you basically fell in love with her and were captured and Iyseth and I had to save your sorry ass and here we are."

Sir Falspar's face reddened as he reattached his mask to his face, "You're never going to let me forget this are you?"

"Never,"

The four of them returned to the Diadian camp, Onyx and Iyseth covered in harpy blood and their own.

When the guards saw them coming, they ran inside the wall of spiked and yelled to everyone, "Hey! Our queen and the star warrior have returned! They have slain the harpies!"

Almost the entire village roared out of the gateway to admire the four. Dragato, Vlad, and Arthur rushed up to them. Looking incredibly relieved well, it was hard to tell with Dragato and Arthur as they were still wearing their masks but you could see it in their eyes.

"We wondered when you were going to be back," Dragato said, examining Onyx, "Is that blood?!"

"Yup," Onyx said as if it was absolutely normal to be covered head to toe in tarlike blood, "What happened with you?"

"Dragato practically lost his head worrying about you," Vlad chuckled, "Pacing inside his tent and murmuring something about 'you guys being okay'."

Onyx and Iyseth laughed, even Meta Knight let out a small chuckle. Vlad turned his gaze to him. "You had us worried there boy," he said sternly, "Where were you? Wanting to get a slice of the action?"

"Yes." Meta Knight said, looking down at his feet, "I'm sorry sir."

"At least you're alive." Arthur said, "However, I'm not sure how long that will last when Onyx gets a hold of you."

They all laughed for awhile, Falspar having to hide his face so that nobody would realize that he had come back with them, however, this strategy didn't escape Arthurs notice, "And where were you, Sir Falspar?" As all eyes turned towards the uncomfortable warrior, shifting from foot to foot, Onyx burst in. "He was outside the gates and he decided to come along with us. Thank god he did, killed a harpy that would have had my head otherwise,"

Everyone looked impressively at Falspar as he just stared in amazement at Onyx. Who just smirked back.

…

After they had gotten cleaned up, Arthur announced to everyone that they would be taking there leave. Iyseth pulled Onyx aside as the others made there way towards the ship. "Thank you." Iyseth said, smiling at the star warrior. "For saving my people." Onyx nodded and waved goodbye as she ran to catch up with Sir Falspar and Meta Knight, who had been waiting at the gate for her. As they walked, Falsper asked, "Ok, how much do I owe you for saving me from endless mocking?"

"Your bagel for the next week." Onyx said smiling at the idea.

"Fine. I don't know why you like that army food anyways." Falspar said, but you could tell that he was really disappointed.

They walked up to the ship and entered. Meta Knight taking one last look at the few Diadians who had come to see them off. The gate of the ship shut and it rose into the air. It rose higher and higher until the planet was about the size of a green marble.

_Well, Next chapter I'm showing Meta Knight older like, 15. Just so you know. And also, I'm going to try to mention Yamikage some more._


	5. Chapter 5

_Hello, welcome to chapter 5. Enjoy. I don't have anything funny or sarcastic to say. Sorry._

"SWORD BEAM!" shouted Meta Knight, a small flash of light burst of his sword and traveled a few feet before dissolving into nothing.

"Good try, at least it didn't blow up in your face this time," Onyx said, walking over to him, "But try it like this." She adjusted her stance so her feet stood farther apart and inhaled, then, she thrust the sword out in a swipe that would have taken off Meta Knight's head and shouted at the top of her lungs, "SWORD BEAM!!!" the light erupted from her sword and slammed into the wall, making a long, black burn mark across the wall where the metal had actually split in places.

"Yeah, but you don't do it like that." Meta Knight noticed

"I did when I first started. It kept me from being knocked off my feet and it was easier to concentrate when I'm firmly planted on the ground." Onyx gave Meta Knight back his sword, "Now, try again. It'll only be another hour before we land again."

Today was Meta Knight's first battle. He had been waiting for this moment ever since he had been taken up by the Galaxy Soldier Army when he was 6. Now, he was 15, and almost completely confident. His nerves were still on the fritz. Onyx had been training excessively with him since yesterday morning, making sure that he would make it through this one battle. Onyx was more than just his friend, she was like a second mother to him. And she treated him like a son, a soldier, and a best friend.

Vlad stepped into the room, causing them both to turn, "Onyx, we need you to land the ship, Bereth is in sight."

"Ok, I'll be there in a sec," she turned to Meta Knight, "I gotta go. Good luck today," she gave him a tight hug, causing him to blush.

"Hey! Meta Knight! Come over here!" Vlad called to him, Meta Knight ran over, and saw that Vlad had a bundle of something that wasn't quite distinguishable

"I wanted to give you this before the battle." He handed him the bundle and Meta Knight unwrapped it to find a cape, a pair of shoulder pads, and a circular mask with a V- like slit in the center for his eyes. Meta Knight's eyes gleamed a bright blue, "Wow! Thanks a lot! It's awesome!" He attached his mask, cape, and shoulder pads and asked, "How do I look?"

"_Way_ older than I had anticipated," Vlad chuckled, "grab your sword, we'll be landing soon," Meta Knight did as he was told and ran to the control room where he found Onyx sitting in a chair and rapidly typing coordinates into the ship.

"Hey Onyx, how do I look?" He asked. She spun in her chair and grinned ear to ear, "Great! It's a new look for you!" she laughed a bit as the ship began to descend.

"Ok, we're landing. Go to the deck with everyone and I'll meet you there."

Meta Knight ran down the metal hallways and came up in an enormous room with warriors of all kinds. Ninja's, Knights, a few, like Vlad, were dressed a J.I. Joes (even though Meta Knight didn't even know what those were)

They all felt a shuddering bump as the ship touched ground. A hatch opened and a ramp automatically slid down to allow them to climb off the ship and onto the new planet. It was the one planet they did not understand why they were fighting for. There was nothing there. It was all swamp and marsh. As if reading his mind, Vlad explained, "To escape the war, the people of Bereth moved to an underground refuge."

On the horizon, Meta Knight squinted and saw movement. His stomach turned over and his confidence fled. He was a scared little kid again, but this time, he didn't have anywhere to hide.

Onyx came up next to him, her triangular mask pulled down over her face. "Nervous?" she asked, not turning her head from the onslaught of beasts

"Yeah, a bit." Meta Knight said, turning the hilt of his sword over in his sweaty palms.

Everything seemed implode on him. The army of beasts hit him like a ship. All around him were soldiers fighting off demon beasts of all sorts. A few meters away from him he saw Vlad decapitate a giant spider, who dropped to the ground, black blood pouring from where its head had been moments ago.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a dragon equal to him in size shooting his way. Quickly he spun around just in time for his blade to sink into the beast's heart. The force of the impact knocked him to the ground. His cape became drenched with soggy water as he pushed himself up, dislodging the dragon from his sword.

The battle seemed to go on in a pattern. Wait for a demon beast to find you, or else help a friend who's about to be killed. Slowly work your way to the front lines. All of Meta Knight's skill was being forced upon him in one big load. He was drenched in sweat and salty swamp water. His many cuts and bruises seemed to double the longer he fought.

He saw something out of the corner of his eye. It was Onyx. She was fighting a giant snake, almost 20 feet long. He ran to help his friend, who was being pushed back farther and farther by the serpent. Meta Knight raised his sword, and exhaled, he yelled at the top of his lungs, "SWORD BEAM!!!"

The beam exploded from his sword, ripping across the battle field, like a white hot blade of light. It met the snake, slicing right through it. The snake stopped dead, its head two feet from Onyx, who's eyes were shut for a swift demise.

Meta Knight laughed, which was odd while standing in the middle of a war. He was too busy laughing that he didn't notice the right half of the snake's body begin to fall on him.

"Meta Knight!" Onyx yelled. Meta Knight looked up and saw the half of the giant snake about to crush him. Something slammed into him and he was shoved into the ground, inhaling a mouthful of salty swamp water.

He glanced about for Onyx and cried out when he saw her beneath the snake.

"Onyx!" He ran over to her, and tried to lift the snakes body, but to no avail.

"Meta… Knight…" she said in a shuddering breath, her eyes were already starting to darken, "I've loved you like a son and one of my best friends."

"No! No…" tears were running down Meta Knight's face. He put his hand on her face

"I want you to win this war… to… defeat Nightmare… not just for me… but for everyone else." Her eyes went dark. Her hands went limp in his. Meta Knight hugged her. Crying into her spiky blue hair. He wanted to die. He felt like he did when he had watched his mother die. There was nothing inside of him. It had all fallen out in the form of tears.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He glanced up. Unexpectedly, it was Yamikage. "Boy, get up," He said gruffly, "She's gone."

Despite Meta Knight's resistance, Yamikage managed to drag him back to the ship. The teenager had stopped crying. He still had red blotches around his eyes and he was staring with empty eyes and Yamikage.

-After the battle-

Vlad, Falspar, Dragato, Meta Knight, and Yamikage (who looked extremely out of place with the knights) all sat at a table, staring into their coffee. Not wanting to beak the ever- haunting silence.

Finally, Falspar spoke up, "To Onyx,"

Everyone raised their Styrofoam cups and took a long drink.

Dragato stood up, and then, shooting a glare a Meta Knight, his eyes a dull red, walked off without a word.

"Why does he suddenly hate me?" Meta Knight asked, watching Meta Knight, glancing into the coffee as if it had the answer.

"He liked Onyx, you know." Vlad answered, "He wants to blame her death on someone or something. It's a stage of grief. You are just the easiest thing to blame."

"It's true though." Meta Knight gulped down to hide the crack in his voice, "If I hadn't shot that stupid sword beam, this wouldn't have happened."

"Yes, but the snake would have gotten to her if you hadn't shot it anyways." Yamikage explained. It was the best he could do with comforting.

Meta Knight walked off, leaving a cup half full of coffee. He walked to his quarters, where he had a small cot identical to almost everyone else's on the ship, a dresser, where two pictures lay; One of his mom and dad, which he had salvaged from the wreckage before they had left Archadeon, and a picture of Onyx, without her mask. Her eyes seemed to smile along with her mouth. But that was only a picture. But then, it was all he had left of his mentor, his friend, and close enough to his mother.

_Dude, I know. Uber sad, emo moment. Kudos to Onyx even though she doesn't exist! Also, Yamikage actually does have a heart! No way! Ok, morbid question, but I need it to do the next chapter; how would the GSA treat/lay to rest their dead? Or would they at all? Please give me your idea on this! I need a rough idea of this if you want another chapter!_


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